Preface

This guide is for people who administer the operation of an Oracle database system. Referred to as database administrators (DBAs), they are responsible for creating Oracle databases, ensuring their smooth operation, and monitoring their use.

This preface contains these topics:

Audience
Organization
Related Documentation
Conventions

Documentation Accessibility

Note:

The Oracle9i Database Administrator's Guide contains information that describes the features and functionality of the Oracle9i [Standard Edition], Oracle9i Enterprise Edition, and Oracle9i Personal Edition products. These products have the same basic features. However, several advanced features are available only with the Oracle9i Enterprise Edition or Oracle9i Personal Edition, and some of these are optional. For example, to create partitioned tables and indexes, you must have the Oracle9i Enterprise Edition or Oracle9i Personal Edition.

For information about the differences between the various editions of Oracle9i and the features and options that are available to you, please refer to Oracle9i Database New Features.

Audience

Readers of this guide are assumed to be familiar with relational database concepts. They are also assumed to be familiar with the operating system environment under which they are running Oracle.

Readers Interested in Installation and Upgrade Information

Administrators frequently participate in installing the Oracle server software and upgrading existing Oracle databases to newer formats (for example, version 8 databases to Oracle9i format). This guide is not an installation or upgrade manual.

If your primary interest is installation, see your operating system specific Oracle installation guide.

If your primary interest is upgrading a database or application, see the Oracle9i Database Migration manual.

Readers Interested in Application Design Information

In addition to administrators, experienced users of Oracle and advanced database application designers might also find information in this guide useful.

However, database application developers should also see the Oracle9i Application Developer's Guide - Fundamentals and the documentation for the tool or language product they are using to develop Oracle database applications.

Organization

This document contains:

Part I: Basic Database Administration

Chapter 1, "The Oracle Database Administrator"

This chapter serves as a general introduction to typical tasks performed by database administrators, such as installing software and planning a database.

Chapter 2, "Creating an Oracle Database"

This chapter discusses considerations for creating a database and takes you through the steps of creating one. Consult this chapter when in the database planning and creation stage.

Chapter 3, "Using Oracle-Managed Files"

This chapter describes how you can direct the Oracle database server to create and manage your:

Datafiles
Tempfiles
Online redo log files
Control files

Chapter 4, "Starting Up and Shutting Down"

Consult this chapter when you wish to start up a database, alter its availability, or shut it down. Parameter files related to starting up and shutting down are also described here.

Part II: Oracle Server Processes and Storage Structure

Chapter 5, "Managing Oracle Processes"

This chapter helps you to identify different Oracle processes, such as dedicated server processes and shared server processes. Consult this chapter when configuring, modifying, tracking and managing processes.

Chapter 6, "Managing Control Files"

This chapter describes all aspects of managing control files: naming, creating, troubleshooting, and dropping control files.

Chapter 7, "Managing the Online Redo Log"

This chapter describes all aspects of managing the online redo log: planning, creating, renaming, dropping, or clearing online redo log files.

Chapter 8, "Managing Archived Redo Logs"

Consult this chapter for information about archive modes and tuning archiving.

Chapter 9, "Using LogMiner to Analyze Redo Logs"

This chapter describes the use of LogMiner to analyze redo log files.

Chapter 10, "Managing Job Queues"

Consult this chapter before working with job queues. All aspects of submitting, removing, altering, and fixing job queues are described.

Chapter 11, "Managing Tablespaces"

This chapter provides guidelines to follow as you manage tablespaces, and describes how to create, manage, alter, drop and move data between tablespaces.

Chapter 12, "Managing Datafiles"

This chapter provides guidelines to follow as you manage datafiles, and describes how to create, change, alter, rename and view information about datafiles.

Chapter 13, "Managing Undo Space"

Consult this chapter to learn how to manage undo space, either by using an undo tablespace or rollback segments.

Part III: Schema Objects

Chapter 14, "Managing Space for Schema Objects"

Consult this chapter for descriptions of common tasks, such as setting storage parameters, deallocating space and managing space.

Chapter 15, "Managing Tables"

Consult this chapter for general table management guidelines, as well as information about creating, altering, maintaining and dropping tables.

Chapter 16, "Managing Indexes"

Consult this chapter for general guidelines about indexes, including creating, altering, monitoring and dropping indexes.

Chapter 17, "Managing Partitioned Tables and Indexes"

Consult this chapter to learn about partitioned tables and indexes and how to create and manage them.

Chapter 18, "Managing Clusters"

Consult this chapter for general guidelines to follow when creating, altering, or dropping clusters.

Chapter 19, "Managing Hash Clusters"

Consult this chapter for general guidelines to follow when creating, altering, or dropping hash clusters.

Chapter 20, "Managing Views, Sequences, and Synonyms"

This chapter describes all aspects of managing views, sequences and synonyms.

Chapter 21, "General Management of Schema Objects"

This chapter covers more varied aspects of schema management. The operations described in this chapter are not unique to any one type of schema objects. Consult this chapter for information about analyzing objects, truncation of tables and clusters, database triggers, integrity constraints, and object dependencies.

Chapter 22, "Detecting and Repairing Data Block Corruption"

This chapter describes methods for detecting and repairing data block corruption.

Part IV: Database Security

Chapter 23, "Establishing Security Policies"

This chapter describes all aspects of database security, including system, data and user security policies, as well as specific tasks associated with password management.

Chapter 24, "Managing Users and Resources"

This chapter describes session and user licensing, user authentication, and provides specific examples of tasks associated with managing users and resources.

Chapter 25, "Managing User Privileges and Roles"

This chapter contains information about all aspects of managing user privileges and roles. Consult this chapter to find out how to grant and revoke privileges and roles.

Chapter 26, "Auditing Database Use"

This chapter describes how to create, manage and view audit information.

Part V: Database Resource Management

Chapter 27, "Using the Database Resource Manager"

This chapter describes how to use the Database Resource Manager to allocate resources.

Part VI: Distributed Database Management

Chapter 28, "Distributed Database Concepts"

This chapter describes the basic concepts and terminology of Oracle's distributed database architecture.

Chapter 29, "Managing a Distributed Database"

This chapter describes how to manage and maintain a distributed database system.

Chapter 30, "Developing Applications for a Distributed Database System"

This chapter describes considerations important when developing an application to run in a distributed database system.

Chapter 31, "Distributed Transactions Concepts"

This chapter describes what distributed transactions are and how Oracle maintains their integrity.

Chapter 32, "Managing Distributed Transactions"

This chapter describes how to manage and troubleshoot distributed transactions.

Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in the text and code examples of this documentation set. It describes:

Conventions in Text

We use various conventions in text to help you more quickly identify special terms. The following table describes those conventions and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
Bold	Bold typeface indicates terms that are defined in the text or terms that appear in a glossary, or both.	When you specify this clause, you create an index-organized table.
Italics	Italic typeface indicates book titles or emphasis.	Oracle9i Database Concepts Ensure that the recovery catalog and target database do not reside on the same disk.
`UPPERCASE monospace (fixed-width) font`	Uppercase monospace typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. Such elements include parameters, privileges, datatypes, RMAN keywords, SQL keywords, SQL*Plus or utility commands, packages and methods, as well as system-supplied column names, database objects and structures, usernames, and roles.	You can specify this clause only for a `NUMBER` column. You can back up the database by using the `BACKUP` command. Query the `TABLE_NAME` column in the `USER_TABLES` data dictionary view. Use the `DBMS_STATS`.`GENERATE_STATS` procedure.
`lowercase monospace (fixed-width) font`	Lowercase monospace typeface indicates executables, filenames, directory names, and sample user-supplied elements. Such elements include computer and database names, net service names, and connect identifiers, as well as user-supplied database objects and structures, column names, packages and classes, usernames and roles, program units, and parameter values. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown.	Enter `sqlplus` to open SQL*Plus. The password is specified in the `orapwd` file. Back up the datafiles and control files in the `/disk1/oracle/dbs` directory. The `department_id`, `department_name`, and `location_id` columns are in the `hr.departments` table. Set the `QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED` initialization parameter to `true.` Connect as `oe` user. The `JRepUtil` class implements these methods.
`lowercase italic monospace (fixed-width) font`	Lowercase italic monospace font represents placeholders or variables.	You can specify the `parallel_clause`. Run `U``old_release``.SQL` where `old_release` refers to the release you installed prior to upgrading.

Conventions in Code Examples

Code examples illustrate SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, or other command-line statements. They are displayed in a monospace (fixed-width) font and separated from normal text as shown in this example:

SELECT username FROM dba_users WHERE username = 'MIGRATE';

The following table describes typographic conventions used in code examples and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
[ ]	Brackets enclose one or more optional items. Do not enter the brackets.	`DECIMAL (``digits` `[ ,` `precision` `])`
{ }	Braces enclose two or more items, one of which is required. Do not enter the braces.	`{ENABLE \| DISABLE}`
\|	A vertical bar represents a choice of two or more options within brackets or braces. Enter one of the options. Do not enter the vertical bar.	`{ENABLE \| DISABLE}` `[COMPRESS \| NOCOMPRESS]`
`...`	Horizontal ellipsis points indicate either: That we have omitted parts of the code that are not directly related to the example That you can repeat a portion of the code	`CREATE TABLE ... AS` `subquery``;` `SELECT` `col1``,` `col2``, ... ,` `coln` `FROM employees;`
. . .	Vertical ellipsis points indicate that we have omitted several lines of code not directly related to the example.	SQL> SELECT NAME FROM V$DATAFILE; NAME ------------------------------------ /fsl/dbs/tbs_01.dbf /fs1/dbs/tbs_02.dbf . . . /fsl/dbs/tbs_09.dbf 9 rows selected.
Other notation	You must enter symbols other than brackets, braces, vertical bars, and ellipsis points as shown.	`acctbal NUMBER(11,2);` `acct CONSTANT NUMBER(4) := 3;`
`Italics`	Italicized text indicates placeholders or variables for which you must supply particular values.	`CONNECT SYSTEM/``system_password` `DB_NAME =` `database_name`
`UPPERCASE`	Uppercase typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. We show these terms in uppercase in order to distinguish them from terms you define. Unless terms appear in brackets, enter them in the order and with the spelling shown. However, because these terms are not case sensitive, you can enter them in lowercase.	`SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;` `SELECT * FROM USER_TABLES;` `DROP TABLE hr.employees;`
`lowercase`	Lowercase typeface indicates programmatic elements that you supply. For example, lowercase indicates names of tables, columns, or files. Note: Some programmatic elements use a mixture of UPPERCASE and lowercase. Enter these elements as shown.	`SELECT last_name, employee_id FROM employees;` `sqlplus hr/hr` `CREATE USER mjones IDENTIFIED BY ty3MU9;`

Conventions for Windows Operating Systems

The following table describes conventions for Windows operating systems and provides examples of their use.

Convention	Meaning	Example
Choose Start >	How to start a program.	To start the Database Configuration Assistant, choose Start > Programs > Oracle - HOME_NAME > Configuration and Migration Tools > Database Configuration Assistant.
File and directory names	File and directory names are not case sensitive. The following special characters are not allowed: left angle bracket (<), right angle bracket (>), colon (:), double quotation marks ("), slash (/), pipe (\|), and dash (-). The special character backslash (\) is treated as an element separator, even when it appears in quotes. If the file name begins with \\, then Windows assumes it uses the Universal Naming Convention.	`c:\winnt"\"system32` is the same as `C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32`
`C:\>`	Represents the Windows command prompt of the current hard disk drive. The escape character in a command prompt is the caret (^). Your prompt reflects the subdirectory in which you are working. Referred to as the command prompt in this manual.	`C:\oracle\oradata>`
Special characters	The backslash (\) special character is sometimes required as an escape character for the double quotation mark (") special character at the Windows command prompt. Parentheses and the single quotation mark (') do not require an escape character. Refer to your Windows operating system documentation for more information on escape and special characters.	`C:\>exp scott/tiger TABLES=emp QUERY=\"WHERE job='SALESMAN' and sal<1600\"` `C:\>imp SYSTEM/``password` `FROMUSER=scott TABLES=(emp, dept)`
`HOME_NAME`	Represents the Oracle home name. The home name can be up to 16 alphanumeric characters. The only special character allowed in the home name is the underscore.	`C:\> net start Oracle``HOME_NAME``TNSListener`
`ORACLE_HOME` and `ORACLE_BASE`	In releases prior to Oracle8i release 8.1.3, when you installed Oracle components, all subdirectories were located under a top level `ORACLE_HOME` directory that by default used one of the following names: `C:\orant` for Windows NT `C:\orawin98` for Windows 98 This release complies with Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA) guidelines. All subdirectories are not under a top level `ORACLE_HOME` directory. There is a top level directory called `ORACLE_BASE` that by default is `C:\oracle`. If you install the latest Oracle release on a computer with no other Oracle software installed, then the default setting for the first Oracle home directory is `C:\oracle\ora``nn`, where `nn` is the latest release number. The Oracle home directory is located directly under `ORACLE_BASE`. All directory path examples in this guide follow OFA conventions. Refer to Oracle9i Database Getting Started for Windows for additional information about OFA compliances and for information about installing Oracle products in non-OFA compliant directories.	Go to the `ORACLE_BASE``\``ORACLE_HOME``\rdbms\admin` directory.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle Corporation is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle Corporation does not own or control. Oracle Corporation neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Preface

Audience

Readers Interested in Installation and Upgrade Information

Readers Interested in Application Design Information

Organization

Part I: Basic Database Administration

Part II: Oracle Server Processes and Storage Structure

Part III: Schema Objects

Part IV: Database Security

Part V: Database Resource Management

Part VI: Distributed Database Management

Related Documentation

Conventions

Conventions in Text

Conventions in Code Examples

Conventions for Windows Operating Systems

Documentation Accessibility

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation